DGCA Medical Certification Updates: What You as a Candidate Should Know
When you are in the process of getting a pilot license or already getting one in India, there is one essential paper you must not fail to submit — your DGCA medical certificate. It is not just a bureaucratic process. It affects your qualifications for flying, training, renewing licenses, and so on.
DGCA has made some recent changes to its medical certification process that are intended to be more user-friendly for aviation personnel. Let’s examine the changes, their significance, and the actions to take.
Why These Updates Matter
Commercial or private flying is not only dependent on one’s aircraft or skill — the pilot’s physical health, mental fitness, and aviation stress coping ability are also among the major factors. DGCA has the responsibility to keep assuring that every pilot and trainee possesses the required standards.
With global aviation safety norms continually changing towards being more and more stringent, thus there is a highly important need of more rigorous checks. Besides, for you as a subject in the process, updates typically mean modified validity periods, new testing procedures, and different requirements. Overlooking them could cause a delay or even lead to abandoning your plans.
What’s Changing in DGCA’s Medical Certification Procedures
Here are the major updates you should be aware of:
1. Renewal Periods & Validity Adjustments
Previous norms in India held different validity periods for Class 1 and Class 2 medical certificates depending on age and licence type. For example, many sources show that a Class 1 certificate was valid for one year for pilots under 40 years of age.
However, from July 2025, DGCA issued a public notice stating revised guidelines effective from 1 September 2025which change how often you need a full medical assessment (rather than just the CA-35 form).
According to that update:
| • For Class 1 (commercial pilot licence holders) under 40 years, the renewal interval is now every 3 years for the medical assessment. For 41–50 years it is every 2 years, and for 51–65 years, annually. • For Class 2 (student/private pilots) under 40 years, renewal is required every 4 years for the medical assessment. |
Note: These refer to the medical assessment interval. Other requirements like the CA-35 certification may still need more frequent checks.
Approved Medical Centres & Examiner Requirements
DGCA has tightened which centres/examiners can conduct initial and renewal medicals, especially for Class 1 certificates. Some medicals (initials, delayed, etc.) may need to be done only at empanelled centres (such as specific Air Force medical boards or DGCA-approved hospitals).
